A Game of Cards
Most of us have played a game of cards at some point or another. But there’s a peculiar thing about card games. Once the dealer shuffles the deck and deals the cards, we as players have no control over which cards we end get. Yet, we still play.
Amusingly, life is very similar to playing a card game. In many instances, life deals us a hand we did not choose. We are born at a place and time we did not decide. We did not have a say in who our parents would be or what color our skin would be. But we are here, so now it’s entirely up to us how we play the cards we have.
Furthermore, every day, we are dealt new cards in the form of moments, situations, events, incidents, episodes, and results. How we face up to and “play” these moments will determine the quality of life we create and experience. Our actions and reactions will define our very existence on this earth.
We sometimes think we are in total control of our life. To some extent, that is true. But there are so many instances where we are not in control:
We cannot control the weather.
We cannot control traffic jams.
We cannot control other people’s behavior.
We cannot control inherited or genetic illnesses.
We may not be able to control the things that happen around us, but we do have control over our thoughts. We can either create or destroy our world by the way we choose to think. Our thoughts have the power to either help us overcome problems or completely drown and destroy us. Aptly, some people reflect that “Negativity breeds negativity.” Comparing the mind to a garden, you grow and reap what you sow. If you plant roses in your garden, you will get a beautiful landscape. However, if you plant weeds, you will end up with a colossal mess. The mind is like a garden. One must be very careful which thoughts one plants into one’s mind.
Many people, sadly, lose control of their thoughts. Negative thinking is like quicksand, the more negatively you think, the more negative you become. In this state of mind, problems tend to become magnified. Negativity demotivates us and confuses us. It steals our will, strength, and courage. With time, we are trapped in a downward spiral, weakening our health and state of mind. Peace fades, and happiness is lost.
How can we change our attitude?
Accept, Embrace, and Move Forward
If we can learn to handle our situations by mastering our thoughts, we will become masters of our life. Remember, external factors may not change; but, internally, we have the power to change our attitude.
Ashish Goyal was a bright young boy growing up in Mumbai, India. Suddenly, at the age of 15, he was diagnosed with a rare disease that slowly affected his vision. By the age of 18, he became completely blind. In many ways, this is worse than having been born blind. If he were blind from birth, he wouldn’t have known the world which we see. However, to go blind at the age of 18 was tragic. How did he deal with this? What could he do about it? What kind of life did he live after this?
Ashish accepted the fact that there was no cure for his blindness. He embraced it. By doing this, he was now free to move forward in life. Ashish found ways to cope with his new disability and circumvent any obstacles by developing new skills. He became the first blind person to graduate with an MBA from Wharton Business School. Ashish then moved to London to work for J.P. Morgan and was recognized as the world’s first blind trader, further progressing his career at several prestigious asset management firms. He even has a Wikipedia page dedicated to his story. In 2009, Ashish represented the Metro London Sports Club, and his team won the UK domestic blind cricket tournament. What an achievement!
Former President of India, the late APJ Abdul Kalam, writes in his book, “My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions”: “It was my ‘dearest dream’ to pursue a career in flying, but I failed to become a fighter pilot.” He interviewed for a position with the Indian Air Force, but ranked 9 out of 25 candidates, barely missing out on filling one of the 8 available slots. He says, “I walked around for a while until I reached the edge of a cliff before deciding to go to Rishikesh and seek a new way forward. It is only when we are faced with failure do we realize that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.”
President Kalam deliberately maintained a positive attitude and became the greatest scientist in modern-day India. He accepted his reality, embraced his skill sets, and paved a positive path for himself.
In life, it’s all about how you play your cards.
Jnanpurushdas Swami
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
